Wednesday, February 01, 2012

A Reboot of Sorts

It's been a really long time.I needed a sabbatical.Don't get me wrong.I had a lot in my brain I wanted to say but with the kids, the dead of winter and several illnesses, putting my thoughts in here was not happening.Well, I suppose I need to start fresh now as trying to recall all those random thoughts would be as unlikely as us having everyone in the house sleep through the night these days.Let's try to catch up before I start anew.DS is a happy baby which makes me a happy mommy. He smiles. He giggles. He plays with his hands and stares at it as if he's on some weird trip.DD is going through the regression stage of having a new baby in the house. Top that off with her being 3 and it's good times all around. I can't complain though as she's not terrible. She's just going through the I'll be overdramatic for some added attention. Oh and she's on the occasional, "I'm a baby" pretend play too. She's had DH swaddle her. I've worn her on the Ergo. (By the way, the Ergo is an awesome beast. I barely felt her on my back.)We're also in full pretend mode. Every day, the entire family is someone/thing else. One day we will all be boys. The next day we are all girls. One day we are animals.Now that I'm back at the office, DD is also doing alot of 'Heading to the office' play.DH is doing well although I think he's feeling a bit overwhelmed. He's focusing on photography and videography to give him something outside of the family. (I strongly believe that every parent needs something outside of the family to keep their sanity.)The dog is now physically fighting against walks. Have you heard of a dog that doesn't like to go out for a walk?!Ok, back to what's hanging out in the pantry...In January, there was a two week period where if I didn't have things to do outside with the kids, I became a hermit. It wasn't a depression stay at home thing. It felt more like a hibernation, storing my energy. Part of the cause was a cough that just wouldn't leave. Another part was the knowledge that I was returning to work. Another part was everyone I know is battling an illness, some mild some pretty heavy.I'm not sure what's going on but I pray every day for my friends and family who are ill. On the baptism front, DS is still not baptized although I'd like him to be already. MIL has asked to wait until she arrives which she has decided is not until the winter weather subsides. I'm trying my best to coordinate.I'm back at work and I'm pretty psyched. It feels good to be back in the office even though I'm still dealing with poop. I suppose that's a part of life, you deal with poop in some shape or form whether you are a parent or a worker bee.Sadly some things are still status quo which on one hand makes me feel as though I haven't missed much but at the same time, makes everything feel as though time has stood still. It's just darn odd.My mommy guilt that was prevalant prior to DS' birth regarding changing DD's life has disappeared. I'm not feeling the mommy guiilt about 2nd child syndrom yet. I do have mommy guilt about DD and wondering if my expectations for her are too high. (A 3 year old should be able to regulate her emotions, right? JK)We're practicing our "Treat others the way we would like to be treated." However it's compounded by the fact she's going through the 3 year old shy stage. I hate that word 'shy'. I try to tell folks it takes a while to warm up to a strange environment but I suppose that takes more effort to say. She's getting better.Thing is, once she's comfortable with you, she's a giant ham. At a parent day open house at one of her classes, they asked each kid to stand up and say their name and a talent. My kid gets up and spouts out a CV longer than her wishlist to Santa.We're also still practicing "Time wait for no one." Now she's slowly learning that if she asks to do something that crosses into bedtime hour, we need to take something away from our bedtime routine. ie. She wants to finish playing pretend kitchen, that means that we skip the story today. (We have a super long bed routine. Partly my fault but it works so I'm not knocking it.)